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Parenteau's persistence pays off with Avs deal

Forward took long road to free agency

By Adrian Dater The Denver Post

Posted:
07/05/2012 10:57:58 PM MDT

DENVER -- On Oct. 11, 2007, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau was traded by the Chicago Blackhawks to the New York Rangers. The Rangers' cost to get Parenteau was a conditional seventh-round pick in 2008, and Parenteau was immediately assigned to the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

For Parenteau, the Wolf Pack would be his third AHL team in 12 months, with previous stops at Norfolk, Va., and Portland, Me. His hockey career seemed to be going nowhere, but that wouldn't have seemed a surprise at the time. Parenteau, after all, was a ninth-round pick of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2001. Of the 289 players chosen in that draft, Parenteau was taken at No. 264.

The son of Gilles and Murielle Parenteau was no quitter, however.

"We just always encouraged him to persevere," said Gilles Parenteau by phone from Quebec. "A couple of times, in my deepest thoughts, we probably were worried about him never getting a chance to prove himself as an NHL player. But we never let him see that, and we always had faith in him anyway."

Nearly five years later, faith has been rewarded in the form of a four-year, $16 million contract with the Avalanche. On Sunday, the formerly overlooked kid in the draft, the supposed career minor-leaguer, received a phone call from Avalanche executive adviser Joe Sakic imploring him to sign on the dotted line.

"That was quite a thrill, getting a call from Mr. Joe Sakic, let me tell you," saidGilles, who was sitting at a table with his son at the family home in Quebec as the deal unfolded.

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A long road

Parenteau's story is a case study in the rewards of perseverance. After being drafted late by the Ducks in 2001, Parenteau had a big-scoring season for Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, posting 51 goals and 118 points for the Sagueneens. He turned pro in 2003, signing with the Ducks, but starting out with their AHL farm team in Cincinnati.

Despite three reasonably good scoring seasons with Cincinnati and the Ducks' subsequent AHL city, Portland, Parenteau never got a chance with the big club.

"Yeah, that was a little frustrating. I really thought I would get a shot there to play at least a few games, but it didn't happen," Parenteau said.

Still, Parenteau said he learned a lot from Portland coach Kevin Dineen, who told him he needed to be a more physical player in order to make it in the NHL.

Despite putting up 28 points in his first 28 games for the Pirates in 2006-07, Parenteau got his first big shock as a pro: the Ducks traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks, where he was quickly assigned to their AHL farm club in Norfolk. Unlike the Ducks at least, the Blackhawks finally gave him his first taste of the NHL. Parenteau played five games for Chicago, recording one assist.

Just when it seemed like he might have a future in Chicago, however, Parenteau got more shocking news: he'd been traded to the New York Rangers and, you guessed it, immediately assigned to their AHL team in Hartford, Conn.

"That one was tough. I guess for a little bit there I was worried. It's never a good thing to start bouncing around the minors, and I was getting up into my 20s," Parenteau said. "But, I just kept telling myself, 'It will happen if I just keep working.'"

Parenteau's patience would be put to its biggest test in Hartford. Despite averaging more than a point per game, Parenteau would play three long seasons with Hartford, never getting a call-up from the Rangers. Parenteau said he kept growing as a player, however, crediting Wolf Pack president Jim Schoenfeld for giving him more belief his time would come.

Finally, in the 2009-10 season, the Rangers gave him a shot. Parenteau played 22 games, scoring three goals and eight points. His first goal came against New York Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson.

But just when it seemed like Parenteau might have a home in New York, he became an unrestricted free agent and the Rangers did not make a big enough offer to keep him. The Islanders did, and they would be rewarded with 120 points (38 goals) in 161 games over two seasons.

When he became a free agent again this summer, he was a proven commodity and the Avalanche targeted him early.

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